Our 7 year old Shiba Inu/GSD rescue, Raven, came to us five months ago with rotten teeth and breath that smelled like a dead corpse, I kid you not. We had her teeth cleaned soon after and they had to remove 8 decayed teeth. Poor baby.

Her breath smelled great for a couple of days after her cleaning and tooth removal but slowly became stinky again. Not dead corpse stinky but very fishy. Over the past few months the fishy odour has intensified quite a bit and is beginning to smell a bit rotten again despite the fact that her teeth are clean as can be and she is in good health (she recently had a checkup and bloodwork done).

I'm just wondering if anyone knows what else could be causing her breath to smell so bad even with clean teeth? I've had people tell me it may be her diet (she eats Holistic Blend Lamb and Rice and it was suggested that lamb can make breath stinky) or poor digestion. She does have a sensitive tummy (she can't eat fatty bones/scraps/treats without vomiting or getting an upset stomach so we avoid giving them to her) but she rarely experiences gas so I'm not convinced she has digestion issues on a regular basis.

i would try a adding a broad-spectrum digestive enzyme to her food (one or two tablets down her throat a few minutes before mealtimes), they often help the dog both better digest & absorb nutrients, hence reducing "fermentation" time in the gut and bad breath. also a change of diet may help... feed a less grainy food, since grains are often the culprit in poor digestion... they just sit there for hours in the gut while the body is straining to digest (dogs are built to eat meat, not grains).

Prin - yep, the vet checked the function of all her internal organs with bloodwork and all was fine.

Technodoll - it definitely wouldn't hurt to try her on a digestive enzyme. I think our older pup could benefit from it too because she has her fair share of...ahem...gas. Where can I find digestive enzymes and is there a higher protein you'd recommend?

There are a couple grain free high meat protein diets available, EVO by Innova and Barking at the Moon by Solid Gold

A dumb question maybe, but are you sure the fishy smell is on her breath and not from the other end? Impacted anal glands will also smell fishy

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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown

Nope, the smell is definitely coming from her mouth, OntarioGreys. Our older dog has had anal gland problems for most of her life (we have to empty them regularly) so I'm very familar with the smell. Her breath odour is not the same but it's not a whole lot better either.

Ideally all animals have their teeth brushed every day, but this is not an ideal world. Just because you don't see a lot of overt and advanced dental disease does not mean that dental problems don't exist. Plaque is invisible and forms quickly after brushing. Our own breath would be just as foul if we did not pay diligent attention to our own oral care.

Now consider that dogs lick themselves (yes, even back there), and imagine what is being populated in the canine mouth. My suggestion is to brush your pet's teeth every day with a non-fluoride paste: dogs do not spit out tooth paste, and fluoride is toxic if swallowed often enough.

There are many new dental hygiene products available, consult your veterinarian. Of course, I am assuming that there is no gastrointestinal problem involved as your statement declared. Additionally, I would ask your veterinarian to check your dog's anal sacs, and express/drain them if they are full--this is a source of many fishy odors.

1st and last sentence - Edited by Admin for rudeness to our expert - Please tone it down.

when you eat garlic you can brush your teeth all you want, your breath will still stink until it's out of your system. fix the digestion, fix the type of food ingested, and you will fix the problem. case in point: you will never meet a raw-fed dog with perpetual bad breath, it just doesn't happen. now if the dog must eat kibble, at least feed a digestive enzyme and a probiotic to make things pass through the system without fermentation and gas. give raw bones for chewing and teeth cleaning, no need for a toothbrush, let the dog do it himself the way nature intended it to.

Out of the 10 or so vets I talked to about switching my dogs to raw, only 1 was as excited about it as I was
I wonder why?? perhaps the whole fear of losing money on easily preventable issues is a great factor ... I dont know

But yes... bones work wonders!!!!! All my dogs have puppy white teeth now, and bad breath is a thing of the past. I know not all people "can" feed raw for many reasons, but a raw bone isnt hard to do

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. it's absurd to assume all animals need their teeth brushed on a daily basis, you don't see wolves and rabbits and lions and crocs needing toothpaste and floss do you? that is because they are eating what mother nature intended them to, not little brown pellets in a bag, loaded with plaque-causing carbs and sugars

Animals in the wild may not use toothpaste or a brush, but they do chew or "knaw" on things that "brush" their teeth. A stick, perhaps... or even a bone leftover from lunch. Some might get injested, some might not. But the bottom line is that this texture scrapes the teeth somewhat clean. Now this isn't to say that dogs in the wild have excellent dental care. In fact, I would guess that it's quite the opposite and older dogs would probably suffer tooth decay or even loss.

Food does make a huge difference in your dogs breath, but often bad breath will come from the teeth as well (if not the stomach). If you're against using a brush with paste, simply give your dog a dental chew of some sort to scrape the plaque off, and this will help in the long, to prevent dental cleanings or emergency tooth pulling caused by decay (which does contribute to bad breath).

It's not always the food, but with proper dental care, if the problem persists, I would then assume it is the food. When we eat garlic, the smell of our breath comes from our stomachs. If we eat a lot of garlic, it will seep through our pores (I speak from experience - not good times!).

So little brown pellets, if chewed, will help to keep teeth cleaner, but we should still inspect and brush (or offer a dental bone of some kind) to make sure they stay in good condition.

My dog is still young, but people often ask me if I bleach his teeth. I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of that! I think I've brushed his teeth maybe twice.

also, feeding a high-quality kibble can help to keep teeth in better shape (thinking about prin's dogs, for example, neither are big chewers yet have white teethies at six years old). Genetics also play a big role, not all teeth and gums are created equal. some dogs get plaque and tooth decay alot easier than others no matter what.

but yes, give your dog a bone to chew on, a raw turkey neck or a knucklebone, or a scrubby-toy like a nylabone or a kong (no rawhides please!), no need to guilt yourself into brushing their teeth every day, let THEM do it themselves. as kibble is a man-made invention, so are the doggy toothbrushes and toothpastes put on the market to combat one of the ensuing problems of such an artificial diet. and so goes the Ka-Ching of the cash machine for vets, eh?

you don't see wolves and rabbits and lions and crocs needing toothpaste and floss do you? that is because they are eating what mother nature intended them to, not little brown pellets in a bag, loaded with plaque-causing carbs and sugars.

You don't see monkeys and apes brushing their teeth either, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't. Back in the day, when humans hadn't figured out they needed to clean their teeth, tooth issues were one of the main causes of death. We'd get an infected tooth and it would infect the gum and then the bloodstream and we'd die. If there are teeth that CAN be brushed, they should be brushed. Regardless of what we eat, our mouths are full of bacteria and sure, the more sugar you eat, the more you feed the bacteria and the faster it grows, but eventually you're bound to eat some sugar, whether it's in veggies, grains or even dairy products, so you will feed the bacteria anyway and the plaque will build up anyway, just not as quickly.

It may not be "natural" but then is it natural for wild animals to eat the healthiest, plumpest carcasses without even running for them?

That said, I don't brush my dogs teeth and they are fairly clean, but if they weren't clean, I wouldn't hesitate to do something about it.

Hello there celtic fox im new here but seen ur post about your dogs breath.
Well my dog has the same problem as of 4 days ago. I dont know whats wrong with him, thats how i got here. I added u to my contact list in hope to getting a reply from u thanx

I'm a registered veterinary technician and can tell you that veterinarians (at least the ones I've worked with in the past, currently, and all the ones I've learned from and know)do not make their decisions based on trying to screw people out of money. I hear people complain all the time that vets are in it for the money which is ridiculous. I do not know a single veterinarian that worked his/her butt off in vet school to become rich. If that's what they were after they would have gone into human medicine which is far more lucrative. Veterinarians have to know every kind of medicine-emergency, internal, surgical, radiography, intensive care etc. and....know them in multiple species. I think feeding raw is great fOr many dogs, but to assume that diet is the cause of every dog's breath problem is ignorant. Especially if you are not a veterinary doctor. You do not know that crocodiles don't have bad breath, unless you have snuggled up to one recently.

Ideally all animals have their teeth brushed every day, but this is not an ideal world. Just because you don't see a lot of overt and advanced dental disease does not mean that dental problems don't exist. Plaque is invisible and forms quickly after brushing. Our own breath would be just as foul if we did not pay diligent attention to our own oral care.

Now consider that dogs lick themselves (yes, even back there), and imagine what is being populated in the canine mouth. My suggestion is to brush your pet's teeth every day with a non-fluoride paste: dogs do not spit out tooth paste, and fluoride is toxic if swallowed often enough.

There are many new dental hygiene products available, consult your veterinarian. Of course, I am assuming that there is no gastrointestinal problem involved as your statement declared. Additionally, I would ask your veterinarian to check your dog's anal sacs, and express/drain them if they are full--this is a source of many fishy odors.

The food can definitely be a factor on dogs' breath. We have a very small "pomchi" (half pom, half chiuahua). Her breath, especially for such a small dog is absolutely HORRIBLE.
Recently we left our dog with our father in law for a week. Unlike us, he doesn't put his cat's food up where the dog can't get it. Our dog ended up eating cat food for the whole week.
when we went to pick her up her breath was no longer bad. We brought her home, she got back on her regular dog food diet (and no we don't buy cheap generic food or anything) and within a day her breath is bad again.
Dog dental chews etc don't help her breath at all, and I know its unhealthy for dogs to eat cat food, so i have been looking all over trying to find out what I can feed our little dog that won't make her breath smell so bad.

The food can definitely be a factor on dogs' breath. We have a very small "pomchi" (half pom, half chiuahua). Her breath, especially for such a small dog is absolutely HORRIBLE.
Recently we left our dog with our father in law for a week. Unlike us, he doesn't put his cat's food up where the dog can't get it. Our dog ended up eating cat food for the whole week.
when we went to pick her up her breath was no longer bad. We brought her home, she got back on her regular dog food diet (and no we don't buy cheap generic food or anything) and within a day her breath is bad again.
Dog dental chews etc don't help her breath at all, and I know its unhealthy for dogs to eat cat food, so i have been looking all over trying to find out what I can feed our little dog that won't make her breath smell so bad.

My dog loves to eat rabbit poop! We have a lot of wild rabbits around my yard and there is always a fresh supply of it. I try not to let Marty eat the poop but he does find it before I do . His breath his is stinky and brushing his teeth is not going to help. People never brushed their dog teeth when I was growing up and the dogs where fine and lived a normal lifespan.